Saturday’s action in the Atlanta Braves system was headlined by Eric Hartman’s 18th homer of the season, but he wasn’t alone in hitting it out of the park. Luis Guanipa, Conor Essenburg, and Cody Miller all homered in a fun Augusta game, while Johan Rodriguez hit a pair down in the FCL. We also got to witness the rare strong pitching performance from the DSL club, while Columbus had a pair of games called off due to weather.
Louisville Bats 4, Gwinnett Stripers 2
- Jim Jarvis, SS: 0-2, 2 BB, SB, .305/.399/.447
- Aaron Schunk, 1B: 3-4, HR, R, RBI, .248/.311/.391
- Austin Gomber, SP: 6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 5.52 ERA
- Elieser Hernandez, RP: 2 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 5.13 ERA
Austin Gomber turned in six strong innings on Saturday,
allowing just one run on three hits and no walks with four strikeouts and 14 whiffs. Elieser Hernandez followed him and did allow three runs on five hits, but also struck out hitters for all six outs he recorded. Hayden Harris finished the game off with a scoreless ninth inning.
Aaron Schunk led the offense, going three for four with a homer, scoring and batting in one of the two runs. Cal Conley had a pair of singles and Jim Jarvis drew a pair of walks with both stealing a base, joining Schunk with multi-hit games. The rest of the offense managed just two hits, though there was a Brewer Hicklen double included in there.
Columbus Clingstones vs Biloxi Shuckers – PPD
Columbus Clingstones vs Biloxi Shuckers – Cancelled
The doubleheader for Columbus got rained out, which included the resumption of Friday night’s game and a new game for Saturday. The Friday game will be played as part of a doubleheader on Sunday, while the second game has been cancelled.
Hudson Valley Renegades 3, Rome Emperors 2
- Tate Southisene, SS: 0-2, 2 BB, .220/.360/.341
- Eric Hartman, LF: 1-4, HR, R, 2 RBI, .300/.362/.580
- John Gil, 2B: 1-4, R, .277/.372/.434
- Zach Royse, SP: 5 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 5.40 ERA
Zach Royse was mostly solid in this start, though did allow a pair of homers, leading to the three runs against him. Royse allowed the three runs on eight hits and two walks over five innings, striking out three and whiffing five. David Rodriguez followed with two scoreless innings that included three strikeouts and seven whiffs, before new Braves farm hand Jarret Whorff made his debut with a scoreless inning. Mathieu Curtis finished it off with a scoreless frame.
Eric Hartman continued his destruction of A-ball pitchers on Saturday, when he hit his 18th homer of the season. Unfortunately that homer accounted for all of the Emperors scoring in this one, as they managed just six hits. Mason Guerra came through with two of those, while John Gil and Owen Carey also added one. Tate Southisene was held out of the hit column, but did draw a pair of walks, while Isaiah Drake and Dixon Williams were each hitless in four plate appearances.
Augusta GreenJackets 11, Hill City Howlers 10
- Luis Guanipa, CF: 3-6, HR, R, 3 RBI, .323/.373/.500
- Conor Essenburg, RF: 2-5, HR, R, 3 RBI, .273/.412/.509
- Cody Miller, 2B: 2-4, HR, BB, 2 R, RBI, .185/.343/.407
- Jeremy Reyes, SP: 4.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 3.86 ERA
Jeremy Reyes got the start in what turned out to be a fun shootout of a game. Reyes allowed two runs on four hits and a walk over four and two thirds, striking out three and whiffing eight. It was actually better than the line suggests, as he allowed the runs in the first inning and didn’t allow anyone else to score the rest of the way. Lewis Sifontes went the next inning and a third scoreless, striking out hitters for three of the four outs he recorded. Jaylen Paden and Carter Lovasz each got tagged for a pair of runs as Hill City attempted to crawl out from an 8-2 deficit. Hill City was actually able to take the lead in the ninth, as they got four runs off Styven Paez, before Cristobal Abreu came on to get the final out of the ninth.
The bigger story of the game is the offense was very productive. Luis Guanipa, Conor Essenburg, and Cody Miller each homered, making it nine for Guanipa, six for Essenburg (in 29 games), and four for Miller (in just 13 games). Guanipa actually ended up with a three hit and three RBI day, while Essenburg and Miller each had two hits – and Essenburg also batted in three runs. Those weren’t the only stars here, as Juan Mateo singled, doubled, and walked plus stole a base, and Cooper McMurray singled twice, walked, and batted in three runs. Michael Martinez also walked and singled in four plate appearances. In all eight starters reached base safely, and seven of them did it multiple times. The lone Jacket not to reach was Alex Lodise, who was hitless in five at bats with a golden sombrero.
FCL Braves 5, FCL Rays 2
- Johan Rodriguez, 1B: 3-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, .247/.319/.432
- Malvin Fernandez, 3B: 2-3, HR, 2 R, RBI, .179/.296/.269
- Gensi Angeles, RP: 3.1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 3 K, 2.06 ERA
Danny Young made a rehab start that lasted the first inning and included five whiffs before giving way to team ace Gensi Angeles for the second inning. Angeles went three and a third out of the pen, allowing a run on three hits and four walks while striking out three and picking up 10 whiffs. Ryan Heppner followed and allowed a run over his inning and two thirds, and Luis Arestigueta finished the game off by going three scoreless innings and allowing just one base runner to pick up his first save here.
Johan Rodriguez smashed two home runs on a three-hit day, while Malvin Fernandez hit one himself during a two-hit afternoon. The homers were the first of the season for Fernandez, and the second and third of the year for Rodriguez. Those two provided the bulk of the offense, as the only other player to reach base more than once was catcher Yoelvis Betancourt, who singled twice. Shortstop Manuel Campos walked once in four plate appearances and also stole a base, while Diego Tornes had the day off.
DSL Braves 4, DSL Red Sox Blue 1
- Starlyn De La Cruz, CF: 1-2, 3B, BB, R, .341/.491/.568
- Yassel Pena, 1B: 1-3, 2B, R, .304/.467/.565
- Elioberto Mondesir, RF: 0-2, BB, 2 R, SB, .182/.308/.182
- Cesar Navarro, SP: 4.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 2.25 ERA
The DSL Braves came into today with a team 11.37 ERA in their first 14 games, but got an excellent pitching performance on Saturday. Starter Cesar Navarro, who has been one of the two bright spots on the pitching staff, went four and two thirds scoreless in this one. Navarro allowed just one hit and three walks while striking out three and dropped his ERA to 2.25. Moises Semerite followed and allowed the one Red Sox run in his inning of work, before a scoreless frame from Giovanni Medina followed by Geowin Gomez picking up the save by collecting the final out.
It was a relatively quiet day for the bats from the DSL. Starlyn De La Cruz and Yassel Pena led the way, with De La Cruz tripling, walking, and scoring a run in four plate appearances while Pena doubled and scored a run in three appearances. Luis Fortunato singled, walked, and stole a base while Elias Reyno had a pair of singles, two steals, and threw out a runner at the plate. Bigger names like Jose Manon and Edelson Cabral went hitless, while recent signee Elioberto Mondesir walked, stole his fourth base in four games, and scored two runs.
